Judge calls for review of segregation in Manitoba jails

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A judge has recommended the Manitoba government hire a third party to review the use of segregation in the province’s jails after an inmate died by suicide in Headingley Correctional Institution in 2019.

Jeffrey Owen Tait, 31, was found unresponsive on the floor of a segregation unit Jan. 29. A piece of fabric was wrapped around his neck. Staff and paramedics were unable to revive him, the inquest report said.

Tait’s death was the subject of a 13-day inquest conducted by provincial court Judge Stacy Cawley last fall. Her report was made public Friday.

Tait had been admitted into the Winnipeg Remand Centre on Nov. 3, 2018, and was held in segregation, or solitary confinement, for about 38 of the 88 days he was incarcerated.

One day before his death, he was released from a 23-day stint in solitary confinement at Headingley.

“The decline of his mental health and death occurred while he was housed in segregation for an extended period of time,” Cawley wrote, recommending the third party investigate whether segregation is truly used as a last resort, among other recommendations.

He said he was not doing well, and was seen rocking back and forth in his cell, but was assessed at a low risk for suicide, Cawley’s report said.

He had been prescribed medication for mild psychosis symptoms, but wouldn’t take it the night before his suicide. On the morning of Jan. 29, Tait asked staff if he could smudge, or burn sage, but his request was denied because the policy was to halt outdoor access when the temperature dipped below -32 C.

He became argumentative and threatened staff, Cawley wrote, and refused to return to his cell. He instead asked to be returned to solitary, which staff did to de-escalate the situation.

Within minutes of entering the solitary cell, Tait covered the surveillance camera with wet toilet paper, blocking the view, until it later peeled away to show part of the cell. Around 3:30 p.m., he received a meal from staff and even joked with them.

After that, he was seen sitting on the floor against the wall with the piece of fabric around his neck, and within minutes, fell out of the camera’s view. Corrections staff checked twice but didn’t notice he was unresponsive. Senior corrections staff said they should’ve confirmed he was alive and safe.

He was discovered unresponsive.

When Tait was admitted into the remand centre, he was assessed as having no evidence of suicide risk and was placed into segregation because of his gang status and incompatibility with other inmates, Cawley wrote.

A few days later, he was interviewed by staff but became confrontational and was flagged as potentially violent. He was placed into another level of segregation and given institutional charges.

He was transferred to the Dauphin jail on Nov. 19, where he was housed in regular custody until early January, when staff noticed he was “keeping to himself,” and had smashed a cell window on Jan. 6. He told medical staff he was hearing voices, and was transferred to Headingley on Jan. 8.

The judge recommended the province make it tougher for inmates to tamper with cell cameras. She called for staff to be trained to monitor cell cameras and for jail officials to bolster the complement of staff that conducts monitoring.

She recommended adding resources to support inmates’ mental health, including increasing access to Indigenous spiritual care and practices at Headingley year-round, where 72 per cent of inmates are Indigenous.

The judge called for the province to provide further resources to update and improve suicide-risk assessment training for staff at Headingley.

She wrote that Tait is missed by his four children, partner and parents.

“My hope is that the recommendations in this report will prevent deaths in similar circumstances,” Cawley wrote.

Why Tait was in provincial custody was not immediately clear based on court records Friday.

A government spokesman said the province has received the inquest report and is reviewing it.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera

Inquest into the Death of Jeffrey Owen Tait